W.X-Country is ready to race in the Paul Short Invitational

When the gun is fired in Saturday's Paul Short Invitational, over 200 women from 30 teams will charge across the Lehigh cornfields, commencing the biggest race to date for the Penn women's cross country team. The Quakers, coming off a strong third-place showing in the Rutgers Invitational last week, will be competing in their first major race of the year, a potential pothole for such an inexperienced team. "Although this race is exciting for our women, we can't lose each other in the crowd. We need to continue to stay close," Penn assistant coach Tony Tenisci said. Senior captain Rita Garber considers the increased number of runners a positive, however. "I'm looking forward to a more crowded race," she said. "A large meet will help us to do better to run together as a team." Garber, who ran 18:27 on this five kilometer course last year, should benefit most from the crowds, as in previous races she has only had a few other runners of her ability to compete with. In such a large meet, she should be pulled along to a faster time by the competition. The rest of the team hopes to improve upon the spread between Garber and the fifth place runner. At two minutes in the first race of the year, the gap is now just 1:13. This Saturday's course, a prior host to two NCAA championship races, will be an asset to the Quakers in their goal of running together. The wide-open cornfields of Lehigh, besides providing an excellent view for spectators, allow runners to keep their teammates in sight. Freshman Katie Henderson, a Pennsylvania native, is certainly no stranger to these cornfields. While at Penncrest High School, she ran many races on this course. "I'm excited to run there," Henderson said. "The course is challenging -- fast but not flat." The rolling hills of Lehigh will come as a challenge to the Quakers on Saturday, though, as Tenisci admits that the team is "very tired this week." "We've been doing a lot of speed running and hard pick-ups, and of course we're concerned with the increased school work of our women now that midterms are approaching," Tenisci said. Next week, Penn has no races, so the team can focus on this weekend's meet. Even with an increased workload, the team is excited about their prospects this weekend. "They really have an incredible amount of enthusiasm," Tenisci said. "No matter what, they practice hard and race hard." This Saturday's race should be no exception.

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